Another wonderful day, although things got a bit hairy with Mrs. Williamson this afternoon. Simon and I went up to visit her for an interview about Fanny Blake's life for the Gazette. She's a descendant (through Fanny’s son, Ned) and shared the first part of the manuscript with me this spring. Simon asked a few innocent questions that quickly got under her skin, and she was not happy by the time we made our retreat. She thinks her son is entitled to some share of the estate, and would like to send him to England to University.
I can't say that I blame her. Everyone we know these days seems to have a claim to some portion of Stoney Grove. Simon and I bought it, but John and Frank and Winston (Williamson) have historic connections to the place. I know that we are the legal owners, but aren't they all entitled to something?
When we got back this afternoon I had a message from Myrna waiting.
There’s a meeting at the archives on Monday that she’d like me to attend. Simon
and I have been talking about taking a trip to see some of the other islands, so
we’ve decided to do it, starting on St. Kitts. We’ll take the ferry over
tomorrow morning, and decide where else to go once I’m done in Basse Terre on Monday.
July 9, 2000
Just got back from St. Maarten to find James had moved in! Amy was all apologies, but she looks happy, so I sent Simon back to the Four Seasons and told James he was welcome to stay as long as he wants. He arrived last week to try to patch things up. It looks like, at least for the short term, they’re patched.
Simon and I had a great trip! I took him to see Brimstone Hill (one of my favorite places!) and we hung out on the beach until my meeting on Monday. After that we flew to Statia for a few days, then on to Saba and ended up in St. Maarten.
Statia is a real contrast to Nevis. Small, dry, with rocky beaches and very few tourists. When we got there we spent the afternoon poking around Oranjestad, and went to the fort, the Dutch Reformed Church, Honin dalem (the 18th century synagogue) and the museum. Tuesday we got up early and climbed the Quill. There’s a wonderful tropical rain forest in the crater, and we had lunch in there. Took about all the energy either of us had to climb out and down again. Wednesday we went snorkeling at Corre Corre Bay and saw lots of pretty fishes. In spite of his ‘born to be wild’ persona, Simon is something of a cautious snorkeler. He kept muttering about barracuda. I didn’t mention that the man at the hotel said that most of the shark sightings on the island happen there.
Thursday morning we caught a flight to Saba, and survived the landing. It’s crazy: sheer cliff on one side, incredibly short runway ahead that drops off into the sea if you miss it. After the excitement of the flight, we had a lazy afternoon by the hotel pool. It’s a strange place—everything is straight up or straight down. We thought about climbing Mt. Scenery, but gave in and took a taxi tour instead. Much better for aching muscles. The architecture is really great—lots of red roofed houses and stone walls. Not much to do for more than a day or two though.
Friday we returned to the 21st century and went to St. Maarten. I left Simon at the hotel and spent most of the afternoon shopping. We had a really romantic moonlit dinner that night, and spent Saturday lounging around on the beach.
So its back home again. It seems really strange to be here in bed
without Simon.
July 10, 2000
Amy and I find ourselves with unsympathetic partners today. We stopped by the Four Seasons and discovered Simon settled into the beach with his rum punch. He seems to have corrupted James, who happily joined him. We decided to leave them to it, and went to a cookout at Sandra’s house.
Amy is still planning to go back to the States, and James may be going too. She’s still not sure she wants to get married, but she seems really happy that he’s thinking about going with her.
I love it that Simon loves Nevis enough to want to stay. I guess I
should have told him about the house. Still, maybe we can visit England in the summer when
it's not so cold and damp!
July 11, 2000
God, what a day. First thing this morning, a letter came from Emma. Frank is sick. We’ve always known that he wasn’t completely…normal, but I didn’t realize it had gotten so bad. I feel awful that Simon and I have upset him.
Then Simon came over to interview me for the Gazette. We started on Fanny and ended up on us. He didn’t really mean it earlier this week when he told me he’d stay here, though today he again said he would stay and I think he meant it. I knew, however, that in his heart he wanted to go home. He was upset about me buying a house here, though honestly I hadn’t intended it to be such a big deal. Months ago, when I started the process, I thought we were through. Then when we made up I thought I’d buy it anyway until we figured out where things stood in the long run. I have enough money for it—it really won’t make any difference to him or to us one way or another.
At first I was really upset that he hadn't been honest when he said he'd stay, and that he’d always assumed that I’d drop everything and come back. But to be fair, I’ve sent him mixed messages. Before the drug fiasco, I was planning to go, though just for a visit, nothing permanent. Now I think he was genuinely torn between staying here with me and returning to England.
The more we talked, and the more I was honest with myself, the more I realized that maybe I am ready to go back, to try again to make Stoney Grove a place that's home. Not completely—not to just get on a plane and leave all this behind. And not just because Simon wants me to, and because it's the easiest solution. I do still want to buy the house here, as a get-away, as a refuge. But my life is in England with him, and with Frank, and Emma, and John, and Shirley, and Martin, and Chester. I know all the things that made me unhappy will still be there, but I feel more able to cope now, and much surer of my relationship with Simon. So yes, I’ll go back with him. No guarantees that it will be forever, but that’s okay too.